Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue) is the heart of Beyoglu, the more modern district of Istanbul built during the 19th century. The city’s most popular strolling, shopping and snacking street, now reserved for pedestrians, is lined with boutiques, cafes, consulates, restaurants, galleries, cinemas and banks, with residential apartments above.
When 19th-century travelers spoke of Constantinople (Istanbul) as the Paris of the East, they were thinking of the Grande Rue de Péra (Istiklal Caddesi) and its half-European, half-Asian culture. The avenue begins at Taksim Square, the hub of modern Istanbul.
Nostalgic Istiklal Caddesi tramway cars rattle and clank along Istiklal Caddesi from Taksim Square to Tünel Square just as they did in the 19th-century heyday of this Europeanized corner of the Ottoman sultan’s domains. Halfway along the avenue toward the southwest is Galatasaray Square, easily recognizable by the grand gates to Galatasaray Lisesi, the first European-style lycée (high school) erected by the Ottoman government.
At the far southwestern end of Istiklal Caddesi is Tünel Square, site of the upper station of 19th-century Beyoglu’s little two-station underground train, the Tünel, and southern terminus of the nostalgic Istiklal Caddesi tram. Come in the daytime for shopping, in the evening for strolling, people-watching, supper in one of the many restaurants, a drink in a cafe or bar, and some music in a little nightspot.